


GROUPTALE: SEVEN FALLING

by TilliSilli



Category: Grouptale - Fandom, Undertale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grouptale, Gen, Other, Swearing, character list will update as we all go along yall!!, frisk and chara go by them/them, grouptale au, light blue soul and blue soul go by she/her, the other our humans go by he/him, victor's got a potty mouth too be warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-04-25 19:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14385597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TilliSilli/pseuds/TilliSilli
Summary: What, might you ask, happens when seven humans fall? Join Frisk on a new adventure with six new friends- as they make their way through the Underground and meet the odd, wacky yet amazing monsters of the place below the surface!UNDERTALE belongs to Toby Fox.GROUPTALE AU by Pavizi.Human SOUL designs are mine.CHAPTER IN PROGRESS: Chapter 13, "SNOWDIN TOWN".PROLOGUE: Chpt 1.RUINS: Chpt. 2-10.SNOWDIN: Chpt. 11 - ?





	1. PROLOGUE: The Last Light Of Day

     It started with them.

     Two children had gone up that day, the only two who had agreed it was better for them to be away from their friends, away from everything, away from life.

     The two children, both boys, one adorning a cowboy hat too big for his head, stood at the hole, talking quietly.

      **“Yer… sure about this, right?”** The cowboy asked, his voice was soft, childlike, the other boy scoffed, **_“What? Are you bailing on me now, Andres? We could… we could end their suffering.”_** Andres sighed, **“A-Ah know that!”** The boy exclaimed, **“But… what would _they_ think?” **

     The older boy, who wore an apron, took this moment to think.  _ **“They’d… mourn you, at least, not me, who the fuck would mourn a murderer, anyways?”**_ He said nonchalantly, Andres narrowed his eyes, frowning.

     Four pairs of rapid footsteps was heard nearby, and so was the calling of their names. _**“Fuck, let’s hurry, they’ll catch us--“**_

      _ **"VICTOR WITHERS.”**_ A booming female’s voice came, both of them froze, as the boy in the apron slowly turned towards the cave entrance, _**“…Gracie.”**_

     The girl at the cave’s entrance as practically fuming. She sauntered over, tutu flowing, and grabbed one of their shoulders each, _**“What. The. Hell.”**_ She hissed.

     Victor shrugged, smirking, Andres sniffled.

     Another three children soon came, out of breath, a light brunette boy wearing a bandanna ran over, concerned, _“You scared us!”_ He exclaimed, Victor rolled his eyes, _**“Calm down, you big baby, we weren’t gonna do anything… yet.”**_

     A small girl with a bowtie sniffled, **“Th-thought… thought you died..!”** Victor’s expression softened slightly, Gracie sighed, _**“Just don’t do anything stupid, c'mon, we're going home.”**_ She stated.

     Victor rolled his eyes, and Andres nodded. The only child who hasn’t spoken, a tall, blonde boy with glasses, watched the small reunion, frowning, his eyes widened when he saw the bowtie girl step back, _“OLI, WAIT--”_

     The girl had lost her footing, and fell backwards, the bandanna boy reaching to grab her, with the intention to pull her back, instead, though, he was dragged down with her.

     Gracie screamed, Victor looked over the edge, _**“Oof, that looks like a nasty fall-”** _**“NO TIME FER TALKIN’!”** Andres exclaimed, **“We gotta jump!”** Gracie looked distressed, _**“B-but what about everyone back at the orphanage?! We could get help--”**_

     She couldn’t finish her sentence, for Victor and Andres had looked at each other, gave a nod, grabbed her, and jumped.

     The last boy had walked over, looking into the hole, 5 dots seemed to be moving around, and he gave a sighed, _“Thank god…GUYS! STAY THERE! I’LL GO GET SOMEONE!”_ He called down, frowning, he stood up straight, turning around--

     …Only to have a small child run into him, and send him into the hole too. That day, seven children fell, but will they see the light of day again? They’ll never know unless they try.

     But they certainly have the _**Determination**_ to try.


	2. FALLEN DOWN

_*Golden yellow flowers. They seem to have broken your fall._

     Seven bodies laid on the floor, quiet mumbles of pain coming from them, until they willed themselves to get up, some using others for support, the children looked up, surprised.

**“Fell… down?”** The bowtie girl asked, **"M-my fault! I sorry!”** She exclaimed, near tears, looks like this little girl struggles to speak English well.

The boy in the bandanna patted her back, frowning, _“Shh, it’s okay!”_ He said quietly, Gracie rushed over to her, hugging her. Victor folded his arms, **_“Well, isn’t this fucking dandy!”_** He exclaimed, _**“We’re fucking stuck!”**_ Andres rolled his eyes at him, frowning.

The boy with glasses seemed to be helping another child up, Victor looked at them, **_"Oooh! Who’s this you got, Dick?? Fresh meat?”_** He asked, the child flinched away as Gracie glared at the boy with the apron, _**“Sh, Vic, you’re scaring them.” “Good!”**_ He yelled.

The boy Victor had nicknamed ‘Dick’ held up his hand, silencing the group, _“I do suppose that introductions are in order, correct?_ ” He asked, bandanna boy help up his arm, _“Oh! Me! Me!! I wanna go first!”_

He took a few steps forward, smiling like a dork, _"Hi there! I’m Cason Campbell; the oldest of this group, standing at sixteen years old!”_ He exclaimed, and stepped back, ushering the little girl in the bowtie forward.

And so she did step forward, shaking a little, **“ Olivia… Bianchi. Eleven… years old?”** She managed, **“N-no speak… much English, I sorry.”** She said, stepping back and hiding behind Cason.

Andres stepped forward next, hands on his hips, **“Howdy there!”** He greeted, **“Tha name’s Andres, Andres Diaz! Ah’m kinda tha baby of tha group, since Ah’m ten.”** Seems like he was Texan, he hopped backwards, smiling.

Next came Victor, although a bit begrudgingly, _**“ Victor Withers. Twelve years old, that’s it.”**_ He stated, _**“You’ve probably heard of me all over the news, probably about what happened when I was five.”**_ He wasn’t wrong, almost everyone knew what had happened all those years ago, he stood back, glaring at the floor.

'Dick’ came next, arms folded, _“Just call me Diction, alright?”_ He said, _“I’m fifteen years old.”_ He didn’t say his last name, oddly enough, he stepped back, looking at the final person.

Gracie stepped forward, smiling, _**“Hello there, sweetheart!”**_ She exclaimed, _ **“My name is Gracie Caballero, I’m twelve years old, it’s very nice to meet you!”**_ She did a curtsy, and looked at the child, _**“Well, that’s us sorted, and you are..?”**_

The child tilted their head, and brought up their hands and began signing.

_' Frisk. Thirteen years old.’ _

Andres groaned at this, looks like he’s still the baby of the group, Gracie giggled, and Cason nodded, _“Nice to meet you, Frisk!”_ He exclaimed, grinning. 

Victor gave a cough, gaining everyone’s attention, _**“Let’s just cut the bullshit for a second, we’re stuck down here with no way out.”**_ He stated, Andres rolled his eyes, pointing at a nearby door silently, Victor just glared at him.

Diction sighed, _“Well, what are we waiting for?”_ He asked, Gracie nodded, _**“Let’s get going!”**_

She grabbed Frisk with one hand and Olivia with the other, beginning to walk, the rest of the boys followed suit until they came to a room. With an odd yellow flower in it, who turned to look at them.

**“Howdy!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit here comes the binch  
> also aaaa short chapters bc these few first chapters are from a while back and then we get to chapter four and onwards and wO O SH SUDDEN LONGNESS


	3. FLOWEY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A talking flower? How odd!

The children stopped, looking at the small flower before them, it… had a face. What the heck, it had a face.  
  
The first to react was Cason, who drew back suddenly, _“WHY IS THERE A WEED IN MY GOOD CHRISTIAN MOUNTAIN-”_ Victor had promptly shut him up by stomping on his foot.  
  
Olivia frowned, **“Flow…er??”** The flower, in turn, had nodded.  
  
**“Yep! I’m Flowey, Flowey the flower!”** It exclaimed, Frisk looked at each of the children, eyebrows furrowed. Gracie took a few steps forward, crouching, **_“Hm… you’re a funny looking flower, unlike the flowers up there, you can speak, and interact with us.”_** The flower bounced in place, a sickeningly sweet smile on it’s (his?) face.  
  
He then squinted, taking in each of the children, **“Hm… you’re all new to the Underground, aren’tcha?”** Diction rolled his eyes, _“Yes, I believe we are.”_  
  
Victor had narrowed his eyes at the flower in a sense of distrust, Cason looked at him, frowning, _“Vic..?”_ **_“Cason.”_** He whispered, voice incredibly quiet, **_“Don’t trust him.”_** _“Okay..?”_  
  
Olivia had toddled over, smiling curiously, **“Flowey! Flowey!”** She yelled, grinning, Gracie covered her mouth, giggling.  
  
**_“So,”_** Victor started, **_“what do you want?”_** Cason seemed confused, Flowey, on the other hand, laughed, **“Golly, you all must be so confused right now!”** **_“And I get ignored, great.”_** The boy in the apron mumbled.  
  
The flower continued, as though nothing is wrong, **“Someone ought to teach you kids how things work around here!”** He exclaimed, **“So… I guess little ol’ me will have to do! Ready? Here we go!”**  
  
Their surroundings change within a blink of an eye, causing shock to the group of children, 7 hearts float within a box, each belonging to a child.  
  
Flowey seemed pleased with the amount, and looked at them, **“See those hearts? Those are your SOULS.”** **_“Never heard of that dumb shit before.”_** Victor mumbled, **“Your SOULS are the very culmination of your beings!”** Flowey yelled, grinning, the SOULS began moving, a bit rocky at first, but they soon got the hang of it, **“Your SOULS start off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV!”** **_“Now what is that dumber shit.”_** Victor mumbled again, Flowey heard him that time, **“What’s LV stand for…? Why,** ** _LOVE_**   **of course!”**

He exclaimed, laughing, **“You want some** ** _LOVE_** **, don’t you?”** **“Hell no.”** The boy in the apron hissed, Flowey chose to ignore him, **“Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you all!”** He winked, Cason raised an eyebrow, and suddenly, five bullets came into the air, **“Down here,** ** _LOVE_** **is shared through… little white… friendliness pellets!”**  The kids were now debating on whether or not these so-called ‘friendliness pellets’ were harmless, Olivia, however, seemed to be paying attention to Flowey, who looked at her, **“Are you ready?”** He asked, and threw the pellets, **“Move around! Catch as many as you can!”** The rest of the children looked over at the bowtie girl, who reached up for them, Victor gasped and Diction facepalmed, **_“OLI, WAIT, NO--”_**  
  
She grabbed two, and--  
  
**_PATIENCE: 1/20._**  
  
Olivia was now wailing in pain, and the flower simply gave a maniacal grin.  
  
**“You idiot.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant believe oli is a gullible little girl


	4. MOTHER'S LOVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HERE SHE COMES, IT'S GOAT MOM

     Cason had immediately rushed over to Olivia, Flowey, however, had begun laughing, **"In this world it's kill or BE killed! Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this?! It's so convenient!"** _" **Convenient?!"**_ Gracie shrieked, **_"You HURT our friend!"_** **"I know, but the rest of you will end up like her!"** The flower exclaimed, a ring of bullets surrounding them, **"DIE."**  
  
     The bullets began closing in, closer, and closer...  
  
     Until a fireball appeared, knocking a shocked Flowey away, Olivia kept wailing loudly, as a large, furry woman picked her up, cradling her, Cason craned his neck up to look at her, _"Whoa..."_  
  
     The woman, on the other hand, was not like anything he had seen, for she was a goat lady, oh boy.  
  
      _"What a terrible creature!"_ She exclaimed softly, _"Torturing such poor, innocent youth."_ She looked at the injured girl in her arms, and gently held her hand over the wound the flower had inflicted, which resided on her side.  
  
     It had disappeared within a few seconds of her doing that.  
  
      ** _PATIENCE: 20/20._**  
  
     Olivia gasped, and the rest of the children looked surprised, the woman looked at them, _"Do not be afraid, my children."_ She spoke, _"I am Toriel, Caretaker of the Ruins."_ **_"Fucking hell, she's taller than Diction!"_** Victor murmured, eyes widening, **_"She has to be a good six-foot-five to a seven!"_** Gracie stomped on his foot to shut him up this time, causing him to grunt and mutter a curse under his breath.

     Toriel looked over each child, relieved that no one else had gotten hurt, she gave a small smile, _"I often pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down."_ She added, laughing softly, _"You... are the first humans to have fallen in quite a while!"_ Olivia had taken to clinging to this woman, she had soft fur and she was very content with it.  
  
     Gracie sighed, hands on her hips, **_"The first...?"_** She mumbled to herself, Diction seemed bothered by something the flower had said earlier, and was flipping through his notebook to find something, Toriel giggled, _"Come! I will guide you through these catacombs! This way!"_ She turned on her heel, and walked off, the children following and Olivia still clinging to her.  
  
     The next room looked amazing, no doubt, a pair of staircase leading to a doorway and the patch of red leaves between, Frisk had walked up to it, touching thin air, Diction watched, confused, _"What are you doing?"_ He inquired, causing the muted child to jump and look at him, trying desperately to come up with an excuse with fumbling hands.  
  
      _'I just... thought I saw something!'_  
  
     The boy, although looking quite unconvinced, sighed and nodded, dismissing them and turning to examine the cracked purple walls and floor of the Ruins, scribbling down notes in his notebook, they turned back, examining the bright yellow star that, for some reason, only they could see, and reached out, touching it.  
  
      ** _SAVED._**  
  
     The child frowned, and looked up to where Cason's voice was calling, _"C'mon, Frisk! Miss Toriel went this way!"_ The small human nodded, scrambling up the stairs to join them, and within the next room, a puzzle lay.  
  
     Toriel hadn't put Olivia down yet, she looked at the group, _"Welcome to your new home, innocent ones."_ **_"I'm not exactly innocent, lady."_** Victor mumbled, _"Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins."_ She continued, she then stepped on four switches, and used one hand to pull a lever, opening the door to the next room, all whilst holding Olivia, she then looked back at the rest of the children, _"The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys."_ She smiled, softly, _"One must solve them to move from room to room. Please, adjust yourselves to the sight of them."_

     She finally put Olivia down, who in turn gave a whine, but didn't bug her to pick her back up, before walking to the next room, Andres frowned, looking around, **"...So, whaddaya think of that there goat woman?"** He asked, **"Mama!"** Olivia exclaimed suddenly, causing the group to chuckle, **_"Well, I suppose she is motherly."_** Gracie replied, grinning, the group agreed, and followed her, two children stayed behind, however; Diction and Frisk, the boy looked at the other, frowning, _"...What happened earlier?"_ He asked, voice hushed, Frisk frowned, hands raised to sign.  
  
      _'I don't think you saw it, there was a strange light.'_  
  
     The boy nodded, concerned, _"I see... I'll try to look into it, if I can, the unnatural has always piqued my interest."_ He then smiled, _"Let's go."_  
  
     And so, off they went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so b s vics a sassy green soul...


	5. RUINOUS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> victor knocks over a dummy and cason fights a froggit and gets called a frog fucker. thats it. ALSO THEY GET A NOKIA.

     Toriel beamed as the two finally joined the rest. Gracie looked around, frowning. The rest of the children looked at Toriel, waiting for her to say something.  
  
     Victor, however, had taken an interest in the wall, glaring at it. He didn’t seem happy with this. Toriel clapped her paws together, smiling.  
  
      _“To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches.”_  She started, _“Do not worry, I have labelled the ones you need to switch.”_ Olivia nodded eagerly, grinning. Toriel then began walking towards the end of the room, where several spikes were, Andres furrowed his eyebrows.  
       
     Gracie had immediately walked over to a switch, curious, and read the text next to it, _‘Please flip this switch - Toriel.’_ was what was written, and Gracie laughed, doing so.  
  
     Andres, on the other hand, flipped the other switch without even reading the text. _"Splendid!"_ Toriel exclaimed, _"I am proud of you, little ones."_ With that, she turned and walked into the next room, and the children followed.  
  
     Diction seemed to wince at the sight of what was in the next room: a dummy, it seemed.  
  
     Toriel looked at each child. _“As humans living in the Underground, monsters may attack you.”_  
  
      ** _“Aye, no shit, we were already attacked.”_** Victor grumbled. Toriel sighed.  
  
      _“You will need to be prepared for this situation.”_ She continued. _“However, worry not! The process is simple.”_  
  
     Gracie tilted her head at that, **_“Simple,”_** She inquired, **_“How so?”_**  
  
     Toriel giggled at her question. _“Whenever you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT.”_  
  
      ** _“So that was what that flowery asshole put us through...”_** Victor mused, **_“Seems legit.”_**  
  
     Toriel smiled at him. _“While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly conversation! Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict.”_ She stated. Cason nodded at that, grinning brightly. Toriel pointed towards the dummy that sat nearby. _“Practice talking to the nearby dummy.”_ She instructed. The children crowded around it, curious, and entered a FIGHT.  
  
     ⚫You encountered the Dummy.  
  
     Each one of the children had chosen to ACT and speak to it, being either friendly, or in Andres and Diction’s cases, slightly cold, Toriel seemed pleased with this. Victor, however, chose to shove the dummy over and make Olivia cry, earning a look from Toriel as he pulled it back up.  
  
      ** _“Sorry.”_** He muttered to no one in particular.  
  
     ⚫YOU WON!  
  
     ⚫You earned 0 XP and 0 gold.  
  
      _“Ah, very good!”_ Toriel exclaimed cheerfully, _“You are very good, all of you.”_ Olivia cheered upon hearing that. Toriel then walked to the next room, beckoning for them to follow. Once the group entered, Toriel looked at them, smiling, _“There is another puzzle in this room._ ” She spoke softly, _“I wonder if you all can solve it?”_ She then continued walking.  
  
     Diction had noticed the strange pattern on the floor, frowning. Gracie looked at him, grabbing his jacket sleeve and dragging him off to follow.  
  
     As they walked, although it was such a short distance, Cason gave out a scream.  
  
     He had entered a FIGHT. With a frog. A fucking _frog._  
  
     ⚫Froggit attacks you!  
  
 _“GUYS WHAT’S THIS.”_ He screeched, and the only thing he heard in reply was Victor’s, **_“PFFFFT.”_** Before his laughter.  
  
      _“VICTOR HELPPPP.”_  
  
      ** _“KILL IT.”_**  
  
      _“OKAY, NO, I’M GONNA ASK GRACIE.”_  
      ** _“SHE’S GONE AHEAD, DUDE, CHILL.”_**  
  
      _“YOU’RE THE WORSTTTTT.”_ He groaned, and looked at the interface before him. It was the same as what he saw in the dummy encounter. _“FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, and MERCY.”_ He mused, _“Interesting... Miss Toriel said to not fight, right..?”_ He hovered his hand over ACT, looking at his options. _“Check, threat, compliment.”_ He read, and decided to choose compliment, _“Y-you... look really cute today!”_ He exclaimed.  
  
      ** _“FROG FUCKER.”_** Victor yelled.  
  
      _“Listen, buddy, Toriel said not to fight, but I’m gonna fight you now if you don’t shut up.”_  
  
      ** _“Wow, savage.”_** He replied.  
  
     ⚫Froggit didn’t understand what you said, but was flattered anyways.  
  
     Thankfully, before the Froggit could attack, a certain goat came in, giving it a very disappointed stare, and it sulked away.  
  
     ⚫YOU WON!  
  
     ⚫You won 0 XP and 0 gold.  
  
     After the ‘FIGHT’, the group continued, Victor laughing to himself and Cason looking very shook. Diction had read the sign nearby while the FIGHT was happening, and had probably already figured out the puzzle. Toriel came to a stop a few seconds after, and right before a set of spikes too, sending a few shivers down some of the kids’ spines, _“This is the puzzle.”_ The woman began. _“But... here, take my hand for a moment.”_ She held out her hand (though it seemed more like a paw than anything), and Frisk took it, linking their hand with Oli’s, who grabbed at Cason’s gloved hand, and so on, forming a human (plus one goat) chain, Toriel then began walking, leading the children across the puzzle, before coming at the end and looking at them. _“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now.”_ She spoke, and entered the next room, the children following.  
  
     The next room was massive compared to what they had seen so far, Toriel looked at them, smiling, _“You have done excellently thus far, my children.”_ She spoke, _“However... I have a difficult request to ask of you.”_  
  
     Gracie frowned. **_“What is it?”_**  
  
      _“I... would like you all to walk to the end of the room by yourselves.”_  
  
      _“Wait wha-”_ Cason started, but was interrupted.  
  
      _“Forgive me for this.”_ With that, she had disappeared to the other side of the large hallway-like room.  
  
      _“GOAT MOM WHYYYY.”_ Cason yelled, running off after her. Olivia followed, toddling at top child speed.  
  
     Victor groaned, **_“Oh my god.”_** He muttered, and took Gracie by the wrist, walking after them. Andres followed, curious.  
  
     Diction sighed, and looked at Frisk. _“Can you believe I’ve known most of these idiots for two years or so??”_  
  
      _‘Nope, not really.’_  
  
     He chuckled, _“Let’s go after them.”_ He grabbed their arm, beginning to walk.  
  
     It took a few minutes, but they had gotten to the end of the hallway, Olivia was sat down, confused and near tears. **“Mama??”** She called out, sniffling. After a few more calls, Toriel peeked out from behind the pillar nearby, leaving it.  
  
_“Greetings, my children.”_  She greeted.  
  
      **“MAMA’S HEREEEE!”** Olivia cheered, grinning. This, in turn, earned her a chuckle.  
  
      _“Do not worry, I did not leave you.”_ She assured, _“I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me.”_  
  
     Cason gave a sigh of relief, _“Good, I don’t think I could go through that feeling again...”_  
  
      _“However, there was an important reason for this exercise.”_ She stated.  
  
      _“And what is that reason?”_ Diction inquired.  
  
      _“...To test your independence.”_ Toriel answered, smiling. _“I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone, but together, for a while.”_  
  
     Gracie nodded, **_“We can do that, miss.”_**  
  
      _“Please, remain here, it’s dangerous to explore by yourself.”_  
  
      ** _“Well I know what I’m going to do.”_** Victor mumbled, like the little rebel he was.  
  
     Toriel suddenly clapped her hands together, _“I have an idea. I will give you a CELL PHONE.”_  
  
     Cason gasped, _“Oh my gosh.”_ He whispered. Oli looked confused as Toriel took out a fucking _Nokia_.  
  
      _“Oh my god,”_ Diction mumbled, _“where did she get that.”_ Toriel had handed the phone to Gracie, who looked over it, smiling.  
  
      _“If you have a need for anything, just call.”_  
  
     Gracie nodded, **_“We will.”_** She replied. Toriel reached over, patting her head.  
  
      _“Be good, all of you, alright?”_ With that, she turned, and left the room, leaving the children behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and then they proceeded to wait in that room for five hundred years- jOKING JOKING


	6. EXPLORATION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor falls through the floor twice, and enter Chara! Who calls theirself Choc because of the word Chocolate and they love that stuff.

     Two hours.  
  
     It’s been _two goddamn hours_ since Toriel left them, everyone was bored out of their wits.  
  
     Olivia had repeatedly called the goat mother, happily chatting, at least she was distracted, Victor, on the other hand, had taken to staring at the wall, and the Perseverance SOUL of the group looked at him.  
  
      _“The hell are you doing?”_  
  
      ** _“Staring at this fucking wall, Jesus Christ, are you blind even with your glasses?”_** He shot back sarcastically.  
  
     Diction rolled his eyes, _“Victor, please.”_  
  
      ** _“Victor, thank you. I don’t know about you guys but I’m going.”_**  
  
     Cason had jumped up at that, _“Going? I wanna go!”_ Andres grinned, **“Can we go..?”**  
  
     Gracie sighed, and got up, **_“Well, I suppose we can…”_**  
  
     The rest of the children got up, and they all looked between them, before heading out, Frisk made a beeline for the SAVE point, Olivia, however, had went into the room on her left, there was candy!  
  
     She glanced around, picking a piece of candy up and pocketing it before leaving and joining everyone else, after a few minutes of watching the younger kids crinkle about in the leaves, they proceeded.  
  
      ** _“The fuck kinda room is this?”_** Victor called out, the kids looked around, confused, **“Why are there vents?”** Andres murmured softly, Vic took a few steps forward-  
  
     Only to fall through the floor.  
  
      ** _“FUCKING BEJEEBUS ON A CREPE-”_** _“VICTOR.”_  
  
     There was a thud, Cason covered Olivia’s ears.  
  
      ** _“…I’M ALIVE.”_** Victor finally called out.  
  
     A sigh of relief stretched among the kids.  
  
      ** _“Are you okay down there?”_** Gracie called out, **_“NO, I THINK I BROKE MY FUCKING NECK- OF COURSE I’M FINE CAN’T YOU TELL!?”_** The sounds of shuffling was heard, **_“There’s a door!”_** Vic called out, **_“I’m gonna go through it!”_** After a few more seconds, and a vwip- a crash was heard as Victor landed on the other side of the cracked floor.  
  
     The group looked among themselves, slightly confused, before Andres followed Vic’s steps.  
  
     And so did the others.  
  
     Within due time, they had ended up on the other side of the floor, and after Gracie looked over Victor for any injuries, they proceeded.  
  
     There was a rock and a switch in the next room, and Andres beamed, **“Ah can do it!”** He exclaimed, and sped towards the rock, beginning to push it, in the meantime, Diction looked at the sign, frowning.  
  
     He took a step forward to read it, and then-  
  
     ⚫ Loox wants to battle with you!  
  
     Diction froze up, eyes widening.  
  
      _“Please- don’t pick on me.”_ It pleaded, the boy’s eyes softened.  
  
     He hovered his hand over the ACT button, looking at his choices.  
  
      _“The usual Check, Don’t pick on, and Pick on.”_ He mumbled, and hovered his hand over **[Don’t pick on.]**  
  
      _“Finally, someone understands.”_ It murmured, it used its turn to attack- Diction got hit once.  
  
      ** _PERSEVERANCE: 16/20 HP._**  
  
     He took a breath when his turn came around, and chose to spare.  
  
     ⚫ YOU WON!  
  
     ⚫ You’ve gained 0 EXP and 5G.  
  
     The battle was over, and the monster skittered off, Diction heaved.  
  
      **“AH DID IT!”** Was what tore him back to reality. Seems like Andres did the puzzle, albeit with a bit of struggle.  
  
     Victor clapped, **_“FUCKING SUPERB, YOU FUNKY LITTLE COWBOY.”_**  
  
     Cason snorted in the background, Gracie facepalmed, **_“Let’s head on.”_** She murmured softly, taking Andres by the hand.  
  
     And onward they go.  
  
     Except one.  
  
      _“…Can you hear me..?”_  
  
     Victor paused, his pupils turning a dark red hue.  
  
      ** _“…What the fuck?”_** He whispered, looking around before he set his sights on a blurry red figure, they clapped.  
  
      _“Ah- you can hear me! That’s good..!”_ They gave a pleasant, blurry smile, _“My name is Chara- but you may call me Choc, I’ll be your guide here.”_  
  
     Victor just, slowly blinks.  
  
      ** _“…You could’ve been here from the start what the fuck-”_**  
  
      _“I know, I know! But I am here now- do not worry, I bring no harm, as for now, you should go with your friends, okay?”_  
  
      ** _“…Okay.”_** The boy in the apron grumbled, turning and following, Choc floating behind him.  
  
     The next room was… oddly barren, the group were talking amongst each other calmly, Victor, on the other hand, was only listening in.  
  
      _“The floor is cracked.”_ Diction whispered, _“Another puzzle?”_  
  
      _“Probably.”_ Came Cason’s reply, _“Makes sense.”_  
  
     Victor rolled his eyes, **_“Whatever, trial and error, here we go.”_** And he walked onto the tiles-  
  
      _You know what they say about not learning a lesson?_  
  
     He fell through the floor. _Again._  
  
      **“HOLY SHIT VIC-”** **_“FUCKING SPLENDID-”_**  
  
     And there was another thud, Olivia facepalmed, and the group waited for Victor to climb back up.  
  
     And when he did, everyone decided Gracie should go next.  
  
     And she, quite frankly, danced across the tiles, prompting everyone to follow.  
  
     After that- with Victor rubbing his back and mumbling how a ’large fucking fall’ that was, they continued.  
  
      **“Oh-”** Oli murmured as they walked into the next room, **“Like rock puzzle!”** She exclaimed, Andres beamed, **“Ah can do it!”** He stated loudly, and began pushing the rocks.  
  
     In the meantime, Gracie did go to help, but-  
  
     ⚫ Moldsmal attacks!  
  
     Gracie squeaked, eyes widening, **_“Ah- um…!”_** She turned to look at her options, hitting the ACT button.  
  
     ⚫ Moldsmal waits pensively.  
  
      ** _“Um… Check, Imitate, Flirt..?”_** She uttered, staring at her options.  
  
     She shook her head, deciding to press **[Flirt]** after a few minutes.  
  
     She took a deep breath, **_“…You make my legs become jelly when you’re here~.”_**  
  
     Victor, who was watching outside of the battle, _choked_ on air after hearing that.  
  
     And… Moldsmal wiggled. Gracie raised an eyebrow in confusion, before beginning to dodge the attacks.  
  
     She got hit once.  
  
      ** _INTEGRITY: 14/20 HP._**  
  
     She bit her lip, wincing, before checking if she could spare- and she could, so she wasted no time in hitting that option.  
  
     ⚫ YOU WON!  
  
     ⚫ You’ve gained 0 EXP and 1G.  
  
     Gracie immediately grasped the wall for support, **_“Wow, I guess they really did leave your legs jelly.”_** Victor quipped, Gracie sighed, **_“Time out for you.” “But mOOOOOOM.”_**  
  
     Cason and Andres, meanwhile, were just done with pushing the second rock, carrying onto the third.  
  
     And when they tried to push it, it spoke.  
  
      _“WHOA there, pardner! Who said you could push me around?”_  
  
     Andres gave a faint gasp.  
  
     Cason, now feeling slightly awkward because there’s a talking rock, tugged at his bandanna necktie, _“Ah, s-sorry- could you move..?”_  
  
      _“HMM? Now you’re askin’ me to move over?”_  
  
     A small pause.  
  
      _“Okay, just for you pumpkin.”_  
  
     Cason turned red, Andres raised an eyebrow.  
  
     But the rock didn’t move all the way to the switch, Cason frowned, _“Sorry again, but you gotta-”_  
  
      _“HMM? You want me to move some more? Alrighty, how’s this?”_  
  
     The rock moved in a different direction to the switch, **“Ah think it’s tryna spite us…”** Andres mumbled, Cason spoke up again, _“Um, the switch’s that way-”_  
  
      _“HMM? That was the wrong direction? Okay, I think I got it.”_  
  
     And it finally moved onto the switch, Olivia, who had been watching, clapped before trying to cross over the lowered spikes-  
  
     Until the rock moved and the spikes shot up, causing Oli to stumble back.  
  
     Andres squeaked, Cason facepalmed, _“You needed to stay on-”_  
  
      _“HMM?? You wanted me to STAY there? You’re giving me a real workout!”_  
  
     It finally moved back, a sigh came across the children as they finally proceeded.  
  
     Frisk ran to the SAVE point, Victor decided to explore, he looked at the hole, and then the cheese, and-  
  
      _* “Knowing the mouse may have a family, and that’s why they are set on getting the cheese, fills you with KINDNESS.”_  
  
     He paused, and slowly turned his head, **_“…Did you fucking say that.”_**  
  
     Choc gave a cheeky grin, shrugging, _“As I said- I will be watching, sometimes even chipping in.”_  
  
     The apron boy glared, Andres glanced at him, **“Somethin’ wrong?”** He asked softly, Victor shook his head.  
  
      ** _“…I’m okay. Let’s continue.”_** Was his reply.  
  
     The rest of the group shared glances, before continuing.  
  
     When they got to the next room, Cason gasped.  
  
      _“OH MY GOD, A GHOST!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> theres a reason as to why choc sticks to vic instead of frisk!! this'll be explained soon i promise!!
> 
> also  
> "G H O S T. GHOST. GHOST."


	7. NAPSTABLOOK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> welcome to ghost heck we have music and andres internally screaming

**_“Holy fuck, Cason’s right for once!”_** Victor exclaimed, Cason pouted, _“Excuse me?! I’m right half the time-”_  
  
Gracie held up a hand, signalling the boys to quiet down, and when they did, she gave a smile, **_“Yes, yes, we know, there’s a ghost.”_** She paused, thoughtful, **_“…It is quite interesting though, an actual ghost…”_**  
  
The ghost, in the meantime, was repeatedly spouting “z” out loud.  
  
Diction raised an eyebrow, _“…Why’s it doing that.”_  
  
**“zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz(are they gone yet)zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-”**  
  
**_“Rude.”_** Seems like Victor heard that quip, Andres huffed, walking over to it.  
  
_“*Tell Andres to shove the ghost?”_ Choc asked, Victor rolled his eyes.  
  
**_“Shove it, Andres.”_** He commanded, Andres turned to stare at him for a moment, eyes wide, **“Ah- ya want me ta what?”**  
  
**_“It ain’t gonna move unless you do, probably.”_**  
  
The other kids were staring at Victor like he sprouted five heads, he shrugged, **_“What?”_** He asked, **_“It’s not like-”_**  
  
The sound of someone entering battle stopped his tracks, they all turned to stare at Andres, now somewhat confused and nervous, as he had initiated a battle with a ghost.  
  
**_“Holy fuck, the absolute madman, I thought he’d never do it-”_** _“OH MY GOD! ANDRES FLEE-”_  
  
Andres, on the other hand, can’t hear them.  
  
⚫ Here comes Napstablook.  
  
Andres shifted, nervous, his first instinct was to grab his gun and shoot- but he wasn’t hurt yet, he then bit his lip, deciding to look at the ACT menu, **“…Check, flirt, threat and cheer..?”** He turned to look at his friends for help, only to see Frisk pointing at their smile.  
  
He raised an eyebrow, looking at his options before pressing **[Check.]**  
  
⚫ NAPSTABLOOK = 10 ATK 4 DEF  
  
⚫ This ghost doesn’t seem to have a sense of humour.  
  
**“oh, i’m REAL funny…”** Was the only reply and-  
  
OH NO THE GHOST IS CRYING-  
  
He screeched, yellow SOUL going haywire as he zipped around the box.  
  
He got hit twice.  
  
**_JUSTICE: 14/20 HP._**  
  
His turn again, he turned to look at the others, Frisk was pointing at their smile again.  
  
**“What..?”** He mumbled.  
  
He sighed, and chose **[Cheer]**.  
  
⚫ You give Napstablook a patient smile.  
  
**“heh…”**  
  
Andres bit his lip, waiting for another attack-  
  
…The box said, _’NOT FEELING UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY.’_ Andres just raised an eyebrow.  
  
⚫ Napstablook looks a little better.  
  
His turn again.  
  
**“…Rinse and repeat?”** He guessed quietly, having turned to look at Frisk pointing at their smile yet again.  
  
He chose to **[Cheer]** again.  
  
⚫ You told Napstablook a little joke.  
  
**“Hey, what’s a ghost’s nose full of?”** He asked, **“Boooooooogers!”** Andres is now cringing at himself.  
  
**“heh… heh…”**  
  
Well, at least there was a better reaction- oH GOD NOT THE CRYING AGAIN-  
  
He got hit once, this time.  
  
**_JUSTICE: 11/20 HP._**  
  
⚫ Cheering seems to have improved Napstablook’s mood again.  
  
Andres seemed pleased with this progression, deciding to hit **[Cheer]** yet again.  
  
⚫ Napstablook wants to show you something.  
  
**“let me try…”** The ghost’s tears began to float upwards, creating a… top hat?  
  
**“i call it ‘dapper blook’.”** He stated meekly, **“do you like it…?”**  
  
⚫ Napstablook eagerly awaits your response.  
  
Andres wasted no time in hitting **[Cheer]** again, tipping his own cowboy hat, **“‘Course Ah like it! It means we’re hat buddies!”**  
  
**“oh no…”**  
  
Andres frowned, and then-  
  
Everything returned to its colourful state, he was out of the battle- and the ghost- Napstablook- had leant up to look at him.  
  
**“i usually come to the Ruins because there’s nobody around… but today, i met somebody nice…”** Andres gave a proud smile at that, **“…oh, i’m rambling again.”** Napstablook looked around, **“i’ll get out of your way…”** And so, he phased out of existence, Andres gave him a wave as he left, **“Bye!”** He chirped, before turning around.  
  
The group flocked around him immediately, Gracie looked very concerned, **_“Andres- hun, does it hurt a lot!?”_** She asked, the boy sighed, **“Gracie, Ah’m-”** Oli was unwrapping something hastily, and-  
  
She shoved the monster candy she picked up into Andres’ mouth, surprising everyone.  
  
**_\+ 10 HP GIVEN TO JUSTICE._**  
  
 _ **JUSTICE: 20/20 HP.**_  
  
He just, slowly blinked a few seconds after, **“…Olivia whAT THA FUCK-”**  
  
**“At 11 HP! We all saw.”** The girl stated, arms folded, Diction sighed, _“Let’s… just move on.”_ He murmured, and so they did, taking a left.  
  
Except Victor, who went straight ahead and into the room right in front of, he stared at the cobwebs and spiders in the room, before going over to check things out, it appeared they were selling donuts and cider, and Victor sure as hell wasn’t going to touch the fucking cider, so he bought a spider donut before catching up with everyone.  
  
When he did, they were all… talking to Froggits?  
  
He sighed, Oli was listening to one Froggit rambling about the _‘X button’_ or something, Andres was peeking through a crack on the wall, and Diction and Gracie were talking to the other two Froggits, something about _‘F4’_ and _‘Yellow names when sparing’_ , Cason was standing at the end, eyebrow raised at everyone.  
  
After a few more minutes of letting the four talk to the Froggits, or in Andres’ case, the wall- though he insists there’s a tiny Froggit behind it- they had decided to move onwards.  
  
Before they entered the next room, the phone rung- Gracie was holding it, so she answered.  
  
**_“Ah- miss Toriel.”_** She murmured, and the woman began talking over the phone, **_“Mmhm… okay, oh- stuff lying around? Okie dokie- I’ll be sure to tell the others!”_** The woman then hung up, and Gracie pocketed the phone, smiling, **_“The fuck was that about?”_** Victor asked, **_“Oh, just about how there might be things lying around and for us not to carry too much.”_** She replied, waving her hand dismissively, and so they carried on.  
  
The next room was… odd, to say the least, there were patches on the ground where Victor immediately recognised that they could fall through, and backed up, eyes narrowed, **_“…I don’t like this room.”_**  
  
Andres just rolled his eyes, **“Only ‘cause ya fell through tha floor twice.”** He replied, Diction bit his lip, _“…Hm, six patches…”_ He murmured, _“…I say we split up and go into each one.”_ **_“No, fuck you, I’m not doing that.”_** Vic piped up, Gracie shrugged, **_“Alright, Frisk?”_** She looked to the child, who simply gave a nod, walking over to a patch, the other five walked over to the others, and they all took their time hopping through the patches, which caused Victor to facepalm because he was pretty sure he fell through the floor faster than those lot.  
  
A shout of _‘Yes!’_ was heard soon after, it came from Cason, and the spikes retracted from the other side of the room. Only four people reappeared from the vents connecting to each of the patches.  
  
After a few minutes of waiting, Olivia and Frisk emerged from the vents, both seemed to have taken damage, Diction decided to check.  
  
**_PATIENCE: 13/20 HP._**  
  
**_DETERMINATION: 17/20 HP._**  
  
Gracie bit her lip, staring at them, **_“…Let’s… just go.”_** She uttered.  
  
And they all went onwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant believe andres was force fed a piece of candy  
> also! vic not buying cider? he seems like the type, wonder why he didnt...


	8. HOME

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This just in; Diction hates switch puzzles, Victor falls through the floor yet again, and goat mom returns!

     When the group of seven entered the next room, Diction rubbed his eyes, squinting.  
  
      _“Switch puzzle, it just had to be a switch puzzle.”_ He muttered, Gracie sighed, **_“Don’t be bitter, it’s fine.”_** She replied, Oli rounded the corner, **“And it’s open!”** Was what she exclaimed, Victor shook his head, looking at the sign.  
  
      ** _“The far door is not an exit. It simply marks a rotation in perspective.”_** He read aloud, Diction groaned, seemed like he understood it, _“Whatever, let’s just- go.”_ The boy in glasses muttered, walking onwards, everyone followed.  
  
     The next room was a rotation- and Diction facepalmed, _“I knew it.”_ He mumbled, irritated, Gracie sighed, rounding the corner of the room and looking at the sign.  
  
      ** _“If you can read this, press the blue switch.”_** She called out, Diction sighed, walking towards said switch and flipping it, the spikes retracted, **_“See?”_** She called out, looking at him, **_“It’s not too bad!”_**  
  
     He simply rolled his eyes in response, walking onwards while the others followed.  
  
     Within the next rotated room, Cason went to read the sign, Victor, however, decided to try and press a switch without any instruction.  
  
     …He fell through the floor again.  
  
      ** _“FUCK-”_** **“VICTOR THIS HAS BEEN THA THIRD TIME-”**  
  
     A collective groan of annoyance came across the group as they waited for the child of green to come back.  
  
     And once he did, Cason read the sign, _“If you can read this, press the red switch.”_ He stated, and Frisk went over to press it, with a bit of struggle, making the spikes retract so that the kids could carry on, and so they did.  
  
     In the next room, Diction decided to read the sign this time.  
  
      _“If you can read this, press the green switch.”_ He read aloud, Victor huffed, deciding to press it this time, after a bit of struggle, he managed, and the spikes went away, so the kids went onwards.  
  
      _“OH, THANK FUCK IT’S OVER!”_ Diction yelled, having walked out of the insufferable switch puzzle. Laughter resonated from the children at that, Olivia, in the meantime, had wandered off to the place in front of her, and looked at the Froggit in the room when she entered.  
  
     …She could barely understand it, but there was something about _“Toriel rushing through here with groceries”_ , she frowned, and went through the other door, and gasped at the sight she saw.  
  
     She was on a balcony, over-viewing a beautiful, yet ruined city, she took a few steps forward, hesitantly placing her hands on the balcony wall, **“…Pretty.”** She observed quietly, in awe.  
  
     A tap on her shoulder snapped her out of it, Victor had popped in, eyebrow raised, **_“…What’s up, Ols? You look distant.”_** He stated, Olivia shrugged, **“…Do you think…”** She started carefully, **“…This place- had monsters livin’ in it?”** She asked.  
  
     Victor frowned, **_“…Well, yeah.”_** He replied, looking at the view, **_“It looks like it’s been lived in, for sure, but it makes you wonder what happened to them. Maybe, if someone’s hurt out there, I could help them.”_** He folded his arms, Oli paused, and then giggled, **_“The fuck are you laughing at?”_** **“…Never pinned you as- type who wonder ‘bout what became of something, Vicki- a kind person.”**

     Victor turned red at that statement, **_“H… hey, shut up, it’s my trait, I can’t help it.”_** He murmured.  
  
     Oli giggled again, holding a hand out to him, **“Leggo.”** He stared at her hand for a moment, before taking it, **_“…Yeah, okay.”_** And so, they went back, and reunited with the rest before heading onwards.  
  
     When they went into the other room, the most noticeable feature was the dead tree in front of them, Gracie raised an eyebrow at it, **_“…What the heck..?”_** Frisk took a step forward to inspect it, and then-  
  
      _“Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would.”_  
  
     Olivia gasped, eyes widening as she jumped, **“MAMA!”** She called out, and Toriel, who was about to make a call, came running over, looking at the children with a bit of worry, _“How did you get here, my children?”_ She asked, Victor rolled his eyes, **_“We fucking walked.”_** He muttered, under his breath, Gracie elbowed his side.  
  
     Toriel shook her head, _“Are you hurt?”_ She asked gently, Frisk, Olivia, Diction and Gracie looked at each other, Cason jabbed a finger their way, _“Those lot are.”_  
  
     The motherly goat looked at them, and went over to heal them, kneeling to do so, Oli sniffled, and Toriel stroked her hair, _“There, there, I will heal you.”_ She soothed, and so she did, and did the same with rest.  
  
      ** _PATIENCE: 20/20 HP._**  
  
      ** _INTEGRITY: 20/20 HP._**  
  
      ** _PERSEVERANCE: 20/20 HP._**  
  
      ** _DETERMINATION: 20/20 HP._**  
  
     After this, Toriel sighed, placing a paw on her cheek, _“I should not have left you all alone for so long.”_ She murmured, Oli gave a smile, **“It okay, mama.”** She replied, Andres re-adjusted his hat, Toriel shook her head, _“Even so, it was irresponsible to try and surprise you all like this.”_ Seven pairs of eyes turned to look at her, the woman blushed under the fur, _“Err… Well, I supposed I cannot hide it any longer.”_ She stood straight, looking at them all, _“Come, small ones!”_ She chirped, and rounded the tree, the children following, Frisk had hit that SAVE point up, before they all entered the house behind the tree.  
  
     The entrance room… was a soft yellow, good on the eyes, and it felt homey, and Toriel turned to look at them, _“Do you smell that?”_ She asked, Victor perked up, **_“Butterscotch.”_** He murmured softly, he remembered that phone call- while Diction was having his battle, he was on the phone to Toriel, and had asked the others their opinions on cinnamon and butterscotch, they had a vote, and butterscotch won, **_“…So that’s why you asked…_** ” He muttered, Toriel nodded, _“It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie.”_ She answered, smiling, _“I thought… we might celebrate your arrival, all of you.”_ Gracie smiled, **_“That’s too sweet of you…”_** Toriel hummed softly, _“I want you all to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie tonight.”_  
  
     Victor seemingly choked on air, **_“WhAT.”_** He squeaked, snail pie? What in the fresh f u c k.  
  
     Toriel, all the while, smiled, _“…Here, I have another surprise for you.”_ She walked into a hallway, the children following curiously.  
  
     When they entered the hallway, Toriel beamed at them, and took Andres by the hand, leading him over to a door, the others followed.  
  
     She looked at them all, smiling softly, _“A room to yourselves, I hope you like it!”_ Andres had removed his hat when he came in, gripping it in one his hands, Toriel reached over, stroking the boy’s hair with a fond smile, the other children all looked excited.  
  
     She then perked up, _“Is something burning?”_ She murmured, and turned to the children, _“Um, make yourselves at home!”_ She then rushed off, Andres turned to the others, smiling, **“What’re y’all waitin’ fer? Let’s check it out!”** He grabbed Gracie’s hand, and walked into the room, the other six following.  
  
     The room was a soft red, makeshift beds have been set up around the room in a way so that it was still easy to get around, everyone looked between each other before going off to claim a bed, and once they did, most of the children had tucked themselves in, falling asleep immediately.  
  
     One, however, stayed awake.  
  
     Andres sighed, looking around at everyone, before quietly hopping out of his bed and leaving, rubbing his eyes, he’s tired- but he cannot sleep.  
  
     He walked through the hallway and entrance room, taking the other way and into the living room, where he saw Toriel reading.  
  
      **“…Miss Tori?”** He called out quietly, the woman perked up, closing the book quietly, _“Ah- my child, I did not notice you there.”_ She murmured.  
  
     The young cowboy waddled over, looking at her, **“Whatcha readin’?”** He asked.  
  
     Toriel hummed softly, _“…History, would you like to see?”_ She inquired, Andres nodded, crawling onto her lap so that he could see.  
  
     The two stayed there for a while, Andres frowned, **“…Um…”**  
  
      _“What is it, my child?”_  
  
      **“…Ah’ve… never had a chance ta learn ta read.”** He admitted sheepishly, **“Back home, Ah never really got ta… learn and develop.”** Toriel simply gives a small smile.  
  
      _“Well then, my child, I would be happy to teach you how to read.”_  
  
     With this, Andres perked up, eyes widening, **“Really??”** He asked, Toriel simply nodded.  
  
     He hugged her, grinning, **“Thank ya, Ma!”**  
  
     He then paused, and turned red at what he said, Toriel had given him a shocked look, **“Ah- um… s… sorry, Ah just- is it okay if Ah call ya that..?”** He asked quietly.  
  
     The woman’s features softened, _“…Of course, my child. If that is what you want.”_ The cowboy smiled.  
  
      **“…Thank ya, Ma.”** He repeated, smiling.  
  
     Toriel then began to read to him, Andres had listened carefully, until he found himself falling asleep.  
  
     And he let sleep take him, he was tired anyways, and lord knows he needs it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of fluffy andres at the end!! bc lord knows my little angsty yellow needed some fluff in his life!!


	9. HEARTACHE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning; one of the kids die, but it's okay! Frisk loads.
> 
> The children spent a good morning with Toriel- but Victor is given some unfortunate news, and they need to leave.

     When Andres next woke up, he realised he was tucked in a bed- when did he get into bed..? Wasn’t he with Toriel before? Well-  
  
      ** _“Andres, get up! Vic and Miss Toriel made breakfast!”_**  
  
     He sprung up, eyes widening, **“AH- Gracie!”** He squeaked, the girl giggled, **_“What? Did I scare you?”_** **“N… no.”** He pouted, oh, she scared him alright.  
  
     The girl skipped over, gently taking him by the wrist and grinning, **_“C’mon, c’mon!”_** She then pulled him from the bed, and pulled him out of the room, heading down the corridor, towards the living room.  
  
     On the table were plates of Irish Mackerel breakfast, and heck- Andres was drooling at it already! A soft laugh filled the room, and he turned his head to look at Toriel, who was peeking her head from beyond the kitchen wall, _“Greetings, children.”_ **_“Hi, miss Tori!”_** Gracie chirped, walking over to the table, Andres in tow.  
  
     She sat him down on one of the chairs, smiling, and then sat in one herself, the others were there, talking quietly. Oli was poking Cason with a fork, and then-  
  
      ** _“Order up, assholes!”_** _“Language, Victor.”_  
  
     In waltz Victor, twirling two more plates, before placing them on the table, **_“And that’s everyone!”_** He exclaimed, grinning, before sitting down himself, and so did Toriel.  
  
     The goat looked among the children, a small smile on her features, _“Have you all had a good sleep?”_ **“Yes, mama.”** Oli piped up, Diction nodded, _“Mmhm, thank you for the hospitality.”_ **_“Diction, you fucko, stop being polite.”_** Victor muttered, **_“Language, Vic.”_** Gracie chimed, smiling.  
  
     Cason chuckled at them, _“Well, we all know Andres had a great night’s sleep.”_ He turned to look at him, grinning like a little shit.  
  
     The glare that was given in response was _unholy_.  
  
     It was so unholy that Frisk squeaked at it.  
  
     Cason shook his head, _“Just joking.”_ He murmured, smiling, Andres huffed, looking away, **“Ya better be!”**  
  
     The children and the woman had chatted and ate their breakfast, Cason had scolded Olivia for eating too fast, Victor had jumped to her defence with **_“Hey! None of us have had a proper meal since the fall!”_** Cason simply shook his head and sighed at that.  
  
     Soon enough, they had all finished, and Gracie wanted to help wash the dishes, so she collected them, and headed into the kitchen, Toriel followed her.  
  
     The other five went off to do their thing, Victor decided to go outside, curious.  
  
     He walked up to the dead tree, looking up at that.  
  
      ** _“…Hm, I wonder if I can climb that.”_** He spoke, frowning.  
  
      _“Probably.”_ Choc spoke up, the boy jumped a mile, **_“I fORGOT YOU WERE HERE-”_**  
  
     Cue a fit of giggles from the ghost of red, seemingly amused with this, _“Sorry- I couldn’t help it!”_ They exclaimed, hands clasping at their stomach.  
  
      ** _“Choc, what the fuck, man?”_** Victor pouted, arms folded.  
  
     The ghost soon quelled their laughter after a few minutes, before making a serious face.  
  
      _“Since… I wasn’t able to tell you due to your friends being nearby, and since we’re alone, well… I’ve got a warning.”_  
  
     Victor frowned, and tilted his head, **_“Huh?”_**  
  
      _“Flowey… Flowey was watching you guys make your way through the Ruins.”_  
  
     A pause.  
  
     And then Victor spoke.  
  
      ** _“What- what? What the hell? What??? The shit is that????”_**  
  
      _“It’s… odd, considering he never really… did that before.”_  
  
      ** _“Choc I am now fucking shook what the fuck wHY IS HE STALKING US-”_**  
  
     The ghost held their hands up, _“Shh!! Sh! He might be watching!”_ They murmured, frowning, _“For now, let’s keep this between us, and when the time is right, we should tell the others, too.”_  
  
     Victor silenced himself, but he held that concern look on his face, **_“What if he hurts the others- what if he kills them?”_** He covered his mouth, staring at the floor, **_“I don’t… I-I don’t want them to be hurt…”_** Choc reached over, setting a pale, transparent hand on his shoulder, _“He won’t pull anything, just keep your eyes peeled, okay?”_ They murmured soothingly, _“They’re gonna be okay! And you’ll be fine.”_  
  
     The boy in the apron took a deep breath, and nodded, **_“…Yeah, I got ya, Choc, thanks.”_**  
  
      _“No problem, anyways, now that we’ve had our little chit-chat, what do you want to do?”_  
  
     Victor thought, quiet, **_“…I think… if we can, we could leave- and maybe… maybe he won’t follow.”_** He uttered softly, Choc frowned, _“…A good concept, but… he can burrow through the ground.”_ **_“FUCK. THE GREMLIN WILL FIND US NO MATTER WHERE WE RUN.”_**  
  
     Choc wheezed at that, smiling, _“But, yeah- I said it was a good concept, do not worry! I think… it’s better if you do, I do not want mother to get hurt, but this… this is for the best.”_  
  
     Victor frowned, but didn’t nitpick at Choc for what they said, and headed inside to tell the others.  
  
     A few moments later, a loud yell of **_“WHAT?!”_** was heard, followed by Victor’s **_“Shut your fucking mouth, Gracie!”_** in a somewhat hushed tone, the children had gathered in the bedroom, to discuss their next move in the Underground, of course, Victor suggested to leave the Ruins, which caused a bit of ruckus between the kids.  
  
     Gracie bit her lip, looking at him, **_“But- if we leave, we’ll be in trouble, we might die…” “We’ll die in, like, eighty years time, and with the monsters roaming around here bar Toriel… I don’t think we’ll survive that long.”_** **“But- mama said she’d protect us, an’ stuff…”** Oli added, frowning, **_“I know, Oli, but… she’s going to outlive us.”_** He murmured, _“He’s right.”_ Diction spoke up, _“Monsters age differently from humans, and last much, much longer.”_ The girls gave each other a look, _“…Guys?”_ Cason piped up, **_“Yeah?”_** _“…I think we should leave, think of what we could find- maybe we can go home.”_ **“Yeah- and, and stick ta our promise!”** Andres exclaimed, Frisk tilted their head at that, confused, _‘…What promise?’_ They signed.  
  
     The children looked between each other, and Victor chuckled, **_“We all promised that we’re gonna grow up and live in this big house with each other, one day.”_** He replied, **_“You’re welcomed to join.”_**  
  
      _‘Really?’_  
  
      ** _“Yeah! You’re one of us misfits now!”_** Frisk gave a small smile at that, _‘…Thank you, I’ve never been accepted by anyone.’_ They signed, no one dared to ask why, and then Andres spoke up.  
  
      **“So, uh… how do we break tha news ta Ma?”** He asked, Victor sighed, **_“…We just have to tell her.”_** He replied softly, they all looked between each other, _“Who tells her?”_ Cason asked, and then everyone looked at Diction.  
  
      _“Wow, I feel real fucking loved here, guys.”_ **_“Language.”_**  
  
     Frisk reached over, and gently tugged his jacket sleeve, smiling.  
  
      _‘I’ll go with you.’_ They signed, the boy gave a small sigh, _“…Okay.”_  
  
      ** _“We’ll wait by the entrance room.”_** Victor quipped, smirking, **_“Have funnnn.”_** With that, five of the kids headed out to the entrance room, while Diction and Frisk headed off to find Toriel.  
  
     They found her in her chair, reading, Diction looked to Frisk, before walking over, _“…Miss Toriel?”_ He spoke up.  
  
     The goat looked at him, and smiled, _“Ah, Diction, my child.”_ She gave a smile.  
  
     Diction tried not to feel guilty for what he was going to ask, but stayed silent, and waited for her to finish.  
  
      _“I… wanted to tell you and the others how happy I am that someone is here, I have so many old books to share with you all, and I would love to show you all my favourite bug hunting spot.”_  
  
     He nodded silently, Oli… she would’ve liked that.  
  
      _“I’ve also prepared a curriculum for your education- this may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher… actually, perhaps that is not so surprising.”_  
  
     Frisk gave a soft laugh to that.  
  
      _“STILL. I am very glad to have you all living here.”_  
  
     Diction was struggling to not feel guilty.  
  
      _“Oh, you did ask for something, did you not? What is it?”_  
  
     The boy took a deep breath, and looked at Frisk, before turning back to Toriel.  
  
      _“…When can we leave go home?”_  
  
     The woman paused, _“What? This… this IS your home now. Um- how would you like the see this book I am reading? It is called ‘72 uses for snails’.”_  
  
     Diction shook his head, sadly, _“…How do we exit the Ruins.”_  
  
     Toriel frowned, quiet, before speaking up, _“I… have to do something, stay here.”_ The woman got up, and quickly left, the duo gave a concerned look to each other before leaving for the entrance room- the room where Toriel went to.  
  
     In there, they found five confused children, Victor frowned, **_“What happened?”_** He asked, **_“Toriel headed to the basement.”_** Diction sighed, _“…I asked about leaving and she said she needed to do something.”_ He muttered, Olivia pouted, **“Gotta follow.”** She stated suddenly, and everyone looked at her, **_“Oli, wha-”_** **“Follow! Mama’s pro’lly headin’ to… exit!”** **_“Holy shit, Oli’s got a good point.”_** Victor muttered, _“The hell does that mean?”_ Cason asked.  
  
     Victor shook his head, ignoring the question, **_“Let’s go.”_** He stated, Frisk held up a hand and ran out of the house, before running back in, and the group headed onwards, down the stairs into the basement.  
  
     After a minute or so of walking, they saw Toriel, back facing them, and Oli beamed, **“Mama!”** She called cheerfully, Toriel froze slightly, and then relaxed, _“…You wish to return ‘home’, do you not?”_ **_“…Yes.”_** Gracie spoke up, looking guilty.  
  
      _“Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit t the rest of the Underground.” “…Ohh, so that’s why you told me not to go down.”_ Cason murmured, **_“When was this?”_** Vic mumbled, _“When you went outside to do God-knows-what.”_ The orange boy replied, frowning.  
  
     Toriel gave a nod, without looking at them, _“I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again.”_ **_“Woah woah woah wAIT A MINUTE-”_** Cason stomped on Victor’s foot to shut him up.  
  
     Diction, however, seemed to have focused on one of the words Toriel had said, _“…Again..?”_ He murmured softly.  
  
      _“Now, be good children, and go back upstairs.”_ With that, the woman went onwards, but the children- while some good-natured, some not, did not listen, and went onwards.  
  
     They soon caught up with her again, and Toriel seemed a bit shaky, _“Humans that fall down here will all meet the same fate.”_ Diction raised an eyebrow at that, frowning, _“…Hm…”_  
  
     Toriel continued, _“Soon, I will see it, again, and again.”_ She spoke, _“They come, they will leave, and they will die.”_ **_“Ouch, have a bit of faith in us, jeez.”_** Victor grumbled.  
  
      _“You naive children…”_ Her voice was pained, _“If you all leave the Ruins… They… Asgore… will kill you.”_ **_“Oh fUCK OFF WE CAN TAKE HIM-”_** Gracie stomped on Victor’s other foot, to shut him up again.  
  
      _“I am only protecting you, do you understand? ….Go to your room.”_ She walked onwards, the kids only followed.  
  
     They soon caught up yet again, Oli pouted, frowning, **“Mama, stop!”** She exclaimed, the goat shook her head, _“Do not try to stop me.”_ She stated, _“This is your final warning.”_ She then continued walking, and the seven children looked between each other, before following again.  
  
     Soon, they were at the door, Toriel stood, facing it, _“You want to leave so badly?_ ” She asked softly.  
  
     Oli took a few steps away from the group, and towards her, **“Mama, please, we gotta!”**  
  
      _“Hmph, you are just like them, in a way.”_  
  
     The girl tilted her head, frowning, **“Them??”** Victor, however, noticed that Choc gave a visible wince.  
  
      _“There is only one solution to this.”_ Toriel stated, and turned around, _“Oli- Oli, step back…”_ Cason called out, but Oli stayed grounded, frowning, **“What solution, mama?”**  
  
      _“Prove yourself… prove to me that you are strong enough to survive!”_  
  
     And Oli was then pulled into battle.  
  
      _“Oh god.”_ Cason murmured, a look of dread on his face, _“No no no- let her out, oh my god-”_ Gracie grabbed his arm, a worried look on her face, **_“Calm down, Cason- I know she can do this!”_** She squeaked.  
  
     ⚫ Toriel blocks the way!  
  
     Oli was looking at the menu with a slight look of a shock.  
  
     She turned to the ACT menu, scared, **“Um- uh… check, and talk..?”** She frowned, only two options?  
  
     She decides to **[Check]**.  
  
     ⚫ Toriel - ATK 80 DEF 80  
  
     ⚫ Knows best for you.  
  
     She paused, thinking-  
  
     And then came the barrage of fire.  
  
     She shrieked, she could just barely hear the others yelling to her- and she got hit twice.  
  
      ** _PATIENCE: 12/20 HP._**  
  
      _“Attack eighty, but only four damage, is Mother holding back…?”_ Choc commented, frowning, Victor blinked, **_‘Again…’_** He thought.  
  
     ⚫ Toriel looks through you.  
  
     Oli sniffled, there was a burn on her arm, but she looked through the ACT menu again, choosing to **[Talk]**.  
  
      **“Mama- I…”**  
  
     ⚫ You couldn’t think of any conversation topic.  
  
     And then rained the flames yet again.  
  
     She scrambled away, only being hit once.  
  
      ** _PATIENCE: 8/20 HP._**  
  
      _“Oh god-”_ The children were panicking, Andres had hidden his face in Diction’s jacket, he didn’t want to see this.  
  
     ⚫ Toriel keeps looking through you.  
  
     Oli choose to try and **[Talk]** again, desperate.  
  
      **“Mama- please-”**  
  
     ⚫ You tried to think of something to say again, but couldn’t.  
  
     And again, the flames came.  
  
     And she got hit twice, a devastating scream tore at her throat.  
  
      ** _PATIENCE: 0/20 HP._**  
  
     And this was the undoing of the cyan SOUL.  
  
     Cason and Gracie had screamed- Andres had sobbed quietly into Diction’s jacket, Diction and Victor had looked away, Frisk was looking through… a menu?  
  
     She heard the screams, but the only thing she saw in front of her was Toriel’s shocked, yet devastated face as she collapsed, SOUL breaking to pieces.  
  
     And suddenly, the world went black.  
  
      ** _[LOAD.]_**  
  
     And she woke up in the entrance room, six eyes on her as Frisk walked back in, panicked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anddddddd that's all the pre-written chapters!! ive only just started on chapter nine- and a bit of a spoiler, olivia totally socks flowey in the face in it.  
> anyways, speaking of oli- poor girl! she just died and now shes awake due to a load, that- and she remembers dying, hm... i wonder how this'll go down...


	10. REPRISE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children battle Toriel once more- and succeed, however, once they do, they encounter a very smug enemy...

    It was silent in the room, the bowtie girl looked around, having broken out in a cold sweat- when had she collapsed? In fact, did she? That dream, that dream seemed so real-

 

    And then she was engulfed in a hug, shaking shoulders and the ends of a bandanna obscured her view slightly, _“Oli- oh, god, Oli, Ols, are you okay?!”_ The bandanna boy demanded, Oli blinked, and reached up, patting his back.

 

     _“Ol- Oli?”_   
  


    **“Can’t… breathe…!”**

 

    Cason loosened his grip, but he kept her in a hug, shaking.

 

    Then, he sighed, _“...We thought- we thought… we’d lost you…”_ Oli bit her lip, **“...How?”** She asked, **“How- am I living?”** Cason shook his head.

 

     _“We… don’t know.”_

 

    Diction glanced to Frisk, watching them sign, _“...Frisk knows.”_ He spoke up, and everyone looked to him, Gracie was wiping her tears rapidly- the girl looked like hell.

 

    The children watched the child sign, and once they were done, Victor’s eyes widened.

 

     _ **“SAVE points- the stars?”**_ He asked, _**“So… the Underground has essentially made our lives a game?”**_ Frisk nodded at that, frowning, Gracie sniffled, _**“This- it seems so cruel…”**_ She whispered.

 

     **“Well- we can’t do anythin’ ‘bout it now.”** Andres spoke up, arms folded, **“Let’s focus on tha matter at hand- who’s gonna fight Ma?”** The kids looked between each other, **“We can’t let Oli do it, ‘cause of…”** He trailed off, frowning, the kids went silent, thinking.

 

     _ **“I’ll do it.”**_ Gracie stated suddenly, eyebrows furrowing, _**“I… remember something I was told about a little while back- ‘sparing is just saying you won’t fight. Maybe one day, you’ll have to do it even if their name isn’t yellow’, that’s what one of the Froggits told me.”** **“Gracie, you fucking genius!”**_ Victor exclaimed suddenly, grinning, _**“We gotta spare her- and make her see we can do this peacefully!”** _ Andres nodded, **“So it’s decided?”** He asked, **“Gracie’s gonna do it.”**

 

    The ballerina held her arms up in a triumphant position, _**“I’m gonna show miss Toriel that we’ll be fine out there- we can take care of ourselves without fighting anyone!”**_ She cheered, Oli clapped, beaming, **“Yeah! Gonna show mama that we’ll be okay!”** With that, they headed on downstairs, ready to rinse and repeat.

 

    The goat woman still seemed adamant with not letting them leave, but the children went onwards, more determined than before.

 

    Once at the door, Toriel looked to them, Gracie was the one to saunter in front of them, smiling.

 

    The woman sighed, _“...Hmph, you are just like them.”_

 

    Victor noticed Choc wince again, but looked away.

 

    Gracie shook her head, smiling, _ **“Miss Toriel, I apologise, we really must leave.”** _ She spoke.

 

    Toriel gave her a sorry look, _“...There is only one solution to this.” **“...I think I know.”**_ Gracie answered, smiling still.

 

    She was ready.

 

     _“Prove yourself.... prove to me that you are strong enough to survive!”_

 

    She nodded, and battle began.

 

    ⚫ Toriel blocks the way!

 

    Gracie certainly didn’t hesitate in hitting the button for the MERCY menu and pressing [Spare].

 

     _“...”_  There was no reply from Toriel, and Gracie bit her lip.

 

    And down comes the fire.

 

    Gracie had danced through it all- not even taking a hit.

 

    ⚫ Toriel looks through you.

 

    Gracie pressed [Spare] again, she’s going to keep trying- for the others.

 

    _“ **...** …”_ Even less of a reply- but Gracie felt like she was making a bit of progress.

 

    The flames came again, swaying in a double helix.

 

    Gracie had taken one hit- a slight burn forming on her arm.

 

     _ **INTEGRITY: 16/20 HP.**_

 

    ⚫ Toriel prepares a magical attack.

 

    Gracie blinked- this menu text was different, she hit [Spare] again.

 

     _“... … …”_ Still silent, the ballerina bit the inside of her cheek this time.

 

     And two waves of flames came from opposite direction, and the girl danced past them flawlessly, she felt like she had that attack down for dodging.

 

    ⚫ Toriel is acting aloof.

 

    Another difference in menu text, Gracie smiled, hitting [Spare] once again.

 

    _“...?”_ A small quirk of the eyebrow before Toriel made a stony expression again- however, the kids outside battle had caught this, and seemed to be awaiting more progress.

 

    And in comes the double helix flame attack, Gracie struggled with this- getting hit once again.

 

     _ **INTEGRITY: 12/20 HP.**_

 

    ⚫ Toriel looks through you.

 

    Gracie hummed, hitting the [Spare] button yet again.

 

     _“What are you doing?”_ The woman asked, finally, Gracie simply smiled wider.

 

    One wave of fire came her way this time.

 

    She had gotten hit again- but she had noticed the attack power had dropped slightly.

 

     _ **INTEGRITY: 09/20 HP.**_

 

    ⚫ Toriel takes a deep breath.

 

    Gracie hit [Spare] again.

 

     _“Attack or run away!”_ The woman commanded, her voice wavered, Gracie shook her head.

 

    The double helix flames came again, and she got hit once.

 

     _ **INTEGRITY: 05/20 HP.**_

 

    The other kids were getting nervous.

 

    ⚫ Toriel prepares a magical attack.

 

    Gracie rinsed and repeated, tapping [Spare] again.

 

     _“What are you proving this way?”_ The goat woman asked, and her eyes glanced to the side.

 

    The wave of flames had came once more, and Gracie had danced past them again, humming.

 

    ⚫ Toriel looks through you.

 

     _“Fight me or leave!”_ She exclaimed, but she kept looking away, Gracie shook her head.

 

    The downfall of flames had come, and Gracie tapped and leapt her way through, looking a little worried about her HP.

 

    ⚫ Toriel looks through you again.

 

    Gracie tapped [Spare] once more, and-

 

     _“I know you want to go home, but…”_

 

    No attack came.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    Again, she kept hitting [Spare].

 

    _“But please, go upstairs now…”_

 

    No attack.

 

    ⚫ …

 

     Once again, [Spare].

 

    _“I promised that I would take good care of all of you here.”_

 

    No flames.

 

    ⚫ …

 

     Again, [Spare].

 

    _“I know we do not have much, but…”_ She gave a small, sad smile.

 

    No attack.

 

    ⚫ …

 

     She pressed [Spare] again.

 

     _“We can have a good life here.”_

 

     Not one attack.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    Gracie shook her head sadly, pressing [Spare].

 

     _“Why are you making this so difficult?”_ Her voice wavered, Oli sniffled, **“Mama…”**

 

    Gracie remained silent.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    Again, she pressed [Spare].

 

     _“Please, go upstairs….”_

 

    No attacks.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    The ballerina continued to press [Spare].

 

     _“....”_ Toriel looked away.

 

    Gracie wasn’t attacked.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    Another [Spare].

 

     _“Ha ha…”_ The woman smiled sadly again.

 

    Gracie felt guilty.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    Her hand kept pressing [Spare].

 

     _“Pathetic, is it not?”_ She asked, looking to her, _“I cannot save even a single child, let alone seven.”_

 

    The ballerina looked to the floor.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    Again, [Spare].

 

     _“...”_ Her smile disappeared, and she looked to the side.

 

    ⚫ …

 

    [Spare].

 

     _“No, I understand.”_ She spoke up suddenly, the six- well, seven, counting Choc- outside of battle had perked up one by one, Victor tilted his head, confused.

 

     _“You would just be unhappy trapped down here.”_ The woman murmured, _“The Ruins are very small once you get used to them.”_ She sighed, _“It would not be right for you all to grow up in a place like this… My expectations, my loneliness, my fears… for you, my children, I shall put them aside.”_

 

    And the battle ended, just like that.

 

    The kids had shared a silent celebration, Gracie practically beamed at them- she had done it!

 

    She then turned back to Toriel, who gave her a sad smile, _“If you all truly wish to leave the Ruins, I will not stop you.”_

 

    Cason nodded, smiling, at least they could leave-

 

     _“However, when you leave....”_

 

    The kids glanced between each other.

 

     _“Please, do not come back, I hope you understand.”_ The woman said with a heavy heart.

 

    With that, she engulfed the ballerina in a hug, and the girl didn’t hesitate to hug back, shoulders shaking slightly.

 

    After a minute, she had let her go, and went to give the other children hugs too, Oli had cried and mumbled softly as she was hugged, she didn’t want to leave- but she had to.

 

    Andres was almost the same when he was hugged, he didn’t show it, but only when she had let go to hug Victor, had he released a few silent tears.

 

    The others seemed a bit sad to leave, but not as much as those two.

 

    Once all the children had been hugged, she looked at them all, smiling.

 

     _“Goodbye, my children.”_

 

    And she turned to walk away-

 

     **“N-no.”** Oli choked out, **“No goodbye, mama- more, ‘see you soon’, okay? ‘Cause- cause I know we’re gonna see you again!”** She exclaimed.

 

    Toriel looked at her, and sighed, before giving another sad smile, _“...Right, then, see you soon, my children.”_

 

    With that, Toriel walked off, only stopping to turn to look at them one last time, before truly leaving.

 

     _ **“...Fuck, now I feel guilty.”**_ Victor piped up, Gracie shook her head, _**“So do I, but… it had to be done.”**_ Frisk walked over, placing a hand on Gracie’s shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly, offering a smile, the girl smiled back.

 

     _ **“...Okay, shall we go?”**_ She asked, and the others nodded.

 

    And then Oli walked over and opened the door, walking into the next area with the others following.

 

     _ **“...Wow.”**_ Victor stated flatly, _ **“This is one fucking long hallway.”**_ Diction looked at him, sighing, _“Victor, please…” **“I know, I know- either way, let’s go.”**_ With that, he began to walk down the hallway, humming, the others followed, speaking in hushed whispers.

 

    And then they got to the end of the hallway, and into the next area.

 

    They had immediately set their guards up at who they saw.

 

     **“Clever. Veryyyy clever.”**  The flower spoke,  _ **“Oh COME ON.”**_ Victor yelled, eyes narrowing.

 

    Flowey cackled, **“You think you’re all really smart- don’t you?”** He asked, Oli shivered.

 

     **“In this world, it’s kill or be killed- so you were able to play by your own rules.”** His face distorted to something wicked, **“You spared the life of a single person.”**

 

    He then looked to Olivia, face distorting further, **“Hee hee hee… she didn’t spare your life though, did she?”**

 

    Victor went to shove Oli behind him, but no one would stop the absolute look of _rage_ that had taken place on her face.

 

    She pushed Victor aside, storming over to the flower and rolling up her already short sleeves, she got on her knees.

 

    And _socked_ the flower across the face, before raising her fist to do it again.

 

    In this short interval of time, Diction has rushed forward, and picked the girl up, who immediately began to kick and scream to be let down, to show the flower what for.

 

    But Flowey just laughed at her.

 

     **“I bet you all feel really great!”** He exclaimed, Diction kept a hold of the bowtie girl, _“Shh, don’t listen to him, Oli, he’s just trying to get on your nerves.”_ He murmured, Victor just looked so proud of Oli, _**“Baby’s first punch.”**_ He whispered, wiping a fake tear.

 

    Andres was still glaring at the floor, hand on his holster, Flowey continued.

 

     **“You didn’t kill anybody this time!”**

 

    Diction raised an eyebrow at that, _“...?”_

 

     **“But what if you do if you meet a relentless killer?”** The flower asked, looking to Frisk.

 

     **“You’ll die and you’ll die and you’ll die.”** He answered for them, smiling.

 

     **“Until you tire of trying- what will you do then?”** Gracie tilted her head, frowning at that.

 

     **“Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world… and let ME inherit the power to control it?”** _**“Oh, god forbid you having it, you’d kill everyone and just be down for the day.”**_ Victor stated, frowning, Flowey looked at him, **“Ahh.. you would know how that feels, no? You and I are quite alike.”** _**“Fuck off.”**_ Was the response.

 

    Flowey shook his head… bud… thing, and carried on.

 

     **“I am the prince of this world’s future.”** Victor noticed a confused look on Choc’s face, **“Don’t worry, my little monarchs, my plan isn’t regicide.”** He glanced at everyone but Frisk.

 

     **“No… this is _SO_ much more interesting!”**

 

    With that, his face contorted again- and he let out a _booming_ , haunting cackle, before going into the ground and leaving.

 

    The kids were left in shocked silence.

 

    And Frisk raised their hands to break it.

 

     _‘Let’s… let’s go.’_

 

     _ **“God, I could not agree any fucking less.”**_ Victor muttered.

 

    And so, after much effort, and heartbreak, the children finally left the Ruins.

 

    And entered snowy plains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that closes the curtain on the Ruins arc! and hOLY FUCK WAS THAT CHAPTER LONG- NINE PAGES, NINE!! but heck, i should probably update the blurb or smth to say which chapters holds what area and such- and i told you that oli was gonna sock flowey in the face!


	11. SHAKE MY HAND

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now out of their once-new-home, the children set off into the bitter cold, only to find... skeletons?

    The moment the children had stepped out of the Ruins, bitter cold had assaulted them, except a select few, who were the kids wearing long sleeves.

 

    Andres had blinked at the few freezing kids, confused, **“Why’re y'all shiverin’?”** He asked, head tilting slightly.

 

    Cason gave a soft, chilling chuckle, _“Just- just the snow, Andres.”_ He replied, Diction sighed, _“Cason, you are in shorts, a short sleeved shirt and a bandanna- and the gloves! Honestly, you'll freeze.”_ The boy removed his jacket, dumping it on him with yet another sigh, Cason gave a small, grateful nod.

 

     _ **“Anyways- doesn't this road look a tad bit… long?”**_ Vic asked, gesturing to their only way forward, _**“What if- something pops up along the way? It's a tad risky.”**_ Gracie gave him a look, and smiled, _**“Well, we should go check it, right?”**_ She asked, giggling softly, _**“The more we check, the more we know!” “Yeah, yeah…”**_ He sighed, and began to walk, Frisk on his tail, and the others soon followed.

 

    As they walked, the children chatted happily, Oli, despite the cold, was skipping around.

 

    And Andres, having walked ahead of everyone for a moment, ended up coming across a stick.

 

     **“Hey- guys! Check it!”** He called out, gesturing to it, everyone crowded around it, murmuring.

 

    _“* It’s a tough-looking branch, it’s too heavy to pick up.” **“...”**_ **“Do ya think it fell from a great height?”** _“It would’ve snapped to pieces, otherwise.”_ **“It's a pretty big stick….”** _“I don't think we can pick it up.” **“Duh, genius! Cason is trying to do that!”**_ Victor listened to the others, _**‘...So they can’t hear Choc, huh?’**_ He thought.

 

    Frisk broke up the conversation with a gesture to carry on.

 

    And so they did, however....

 

     _C r u n c h._

 

    The cowboy spun to look at what did the noise, and stared at the now-broken stick.

 

     **“...”** He seemed to have kicked into high alert, turning to rush back to the others.

 

    And they continued walking.

 

    The sounds of happy chatting had resumed, at some point, Diction had turned to look behind them.

 

    And caught the sight of something moving, he froze up, eyes widening.

 

    Frisk tugged his sleeve, having noticed him freeze, he glanced at them, relaxing slightly.

 

     _‘What’s wrong?’ “Nothing, kid.”_ Was his answer, Diction gave a shaky grin, _“Let’s keep going.”_

 

    And they kept walking.

 

    Soon enough, they came to a barred bridge, they looked between each other, confused.

 

    And then they all froze up, were those… footsteps?

 

    They were getting closer, and closer…

 

     **S o v e r y  c l o s e . . .**

 

     **“H u m a n s.”** Andres had reached over, gripping Victor’s hand nervously, his eyes were wide, Victor’s eyes flicked back to him, he didn’t seem as scared.

 

     **“D o n ‘ t  y o u k n o w  h o w t o g r e e t  a n e w p a l ?”** Frisk clung to Diction, shaking a bit, Diction bit his lip, maybe he should’ve told the others…

 

     **“T u r n  a r o u n d  a n d s h a k e  m y h a n d .”** Cason had place a gloved hand on Oli’s shoulder, to stop the little girl from shaking so hard.

 

    ...No one turned.

 

    Except Gracie, who spun around carefully, and reached for the outstretched hand, grabbing it.

 

    …

 

     _FRRRRRRRRRRRRT-_

 

    Cason absolutely lost it the moment he heard the noise, Oli seemed confused, as did the others, Gracie gave a small, nervous smile.

 

    **“heheh… the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it’s ALWAYS funny.”** The newcomer spoke, Gracie gasped at their appearance, _**“You’re…”**_ She stopped herself, thinking it might’ve been rude to point out the fact that this monster is literally no skin and all bones, but he continued, **“anyways, you’re all human, right?”** _**“I- well, yes-”**_ **“that’s hilarious. i’m sans. sans the skeleton.”** The ballerina gave a soft sigh of relief at that, okay, good, he was _suppose_ to be that way, **“i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now.”** AND BACK TO THE TENSING.

 

     **“but… y’know… i don’t really care about capturing anybody.”** And the sighs of relief.

 

     **“now, my brother, papyrus… he’s a human-hunting FANATIC.”** CUE INTERNAL WORRY FROM THE CHILDREN. **“hey, actually, i think that’s him over there.” _“Oh fuck-”_** **“i have an idea. go through this gate thingy.”** _**“You want us to wHAT-”**_ **“yeah, go right through, my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.”** _“I… I mean…”_ And he’s ushering them all through.

 

    Once through, Sans pointed at… seven lamps, why were there seven lamps there, **“quick, behind those conveniently-shaped lamps.”** The children looked between each other, going behind their respective lamps, some found this to be goddamn hilarious, especially Victor and Cason, of all people.

 

    They quietened down upon hearing footsteps nearby, coming closer and closer until…

 

     **“s’up, bro?”** Sans started, and he was answered with a loud voice, _“YOU KNOW WHAT’S ‘S’UP’, BROTHER!”_ They started, _“IT’S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!”_ **“staring at these lamps. they’re really cool. do you wanna look?”** Victor had peeked slightly out of his lamp’s hiding space to draw his finger across his throat to the skeleton, eyes narrowed, _**“I will fucking murder you if you give us away.”**_ He hissed lowly.

 

    _“NO!!”_ Papyrus exclaimed, _“I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?!”_ The taller skeleton stomped his foot on the snow, _“I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE, I MUST BE THE ONE!” He huffed, “I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!”_ He placed his hand on his chest, having stopped stomping, _“THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!”_ Diction looked at Victor, _“First impression?” **“Kinda conceited, but…”**_ “ _RESPECT... RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD.”_  Papyrus continued, Vic chuckled, _**“I think his heart is in the right place- wait, what’s a Royal Guard?”**_ Vic whispered, eyes widening, Diction shrugged, _“Let’s hope we don’t find out.”_

 

    Though, Papyrus continued with his speech, his brother listening in, _“PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, ‘FRIEND’? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING.”_ Sans gave a chuckle, **“hmm...”** He started, **“maybe these lamps can help you.”** _**“BITCH SHUT YOUR FUCK-”**_ Victor hissed, though, he was interrupted by Papyrus, _“SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!!”_ _“Boon-”_ Diction started, _“Boon-what now-” “YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!!”_ **“Roasted.”** Andres quipped, **“hey, take it easy, i got a ton of work done.”** Sans started, there’s a small pause.

 

    **“A skele-ton.”** For a second there, Sans had turned to someone and winked, but who knows who it was, the sound of a ‘ba-dum-tss’ was heard, Andres giggled at that and Vic almost lost it in a small fit of rage.

 

     _Victor hates puns._

 

    And it seems that Papyrus shares a bit of that sentiment, though he doesn’t seem as aggravated as the apron-clad boy, _“SANS!!”_ He hollered, **“come on.”** Sans stated, **“you’re smiling.”** _“I AM AND I HATE IT!! UGH…”_ The skeleton huffed yet again, _“WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?”_ **“wow, sounds like you’re really working yourself…”** And Vic groans, here it comes again.

 

     **“down to the bone.”** And he does it again, he turns, winks off at someone, whoever they may be, as well as the ‘ba-dum-tss’, and turned back, grinning, _“UGH!!”_ Papyrus groaned as well, _“I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES.”_ He stated, recollecting himself, _“AS FOR YOUR WORK.”_ He started, _“PUT A LITTLE MORE… ‘BACKBONE’ INTO IT!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!”_ And off he goes, turning his heel and leaving.

 

    Though he does return for a second with a final _“HEH!”_ and then, truly left.

 

    A blanket of silence befell the area, and Sans broke it with a chuckle, **“ok, you can come out now.”**

 

    And one by one, the children- some reluctant to do so- shuffled out from behind the lamps, they gave a look to Sans, who, again, chuckled, **“you all oughta get going, he might come back. and if he does… well, you’ll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes.”** _**“Yeah that’s it we’re going.”**_ Vic grabbed Cason by his wrist, heading off, the others looked between each other, and Gracie sighed, _**“Let’s go.”**_ She murmured, and off they went.

 

    Before they could, though, Sans piped up, and they looked at him, **“actually, hey… hate to bother ya, but can you all do me a favour?”** He asked, Diction tilted his head, _“Oh..?”_ **“i was thinking, my brother’s been kind of down lately.”** The skeleton admitted, **“he’s never seen a human before- let alone seven, and seeing you all just might make his day.”** The children looked between each other, **“don’t worry, he’s not dangerous.”** Sans added, **“even if he tries to be.”** He chuckled, **“thanks a million, i’ll be up ahead.”** And… he turns on his heel and goes back the way they all came.

 

    Silence overcame the children yet again, though, Vic broke it.

 

     _ **“I have a question.”**_ _“Yes, Vic?”_ Diction murmured.

 

     _ **“WHAT, THE KRIS-KRINGLING FUCK, WAS ALL THAT ABOUT?!”**_ The older children burst into a fit of laughter- Gracie blushed and quietly told the younger children to never repeat anything the boy says.

 

    With that, they were quick to head on- chatter rising from the group, within the next area, one of those stars lay- Frisk was quick to grab it and save, Andres was marvelling over the the snow, giggling softly, **“When can we play in it?”** He asked, yellow eyes wide, Gracie gave a small smile, and patted his shoulder, **_“Soon, dear.”_** The girl cooed, Cason had gone up to their left and came back, looking a bit sad, he earned some quizzical looks, and all he could muster was; _“There was some sort of note saying to call someone, my phone is dead…”_ Victor snorted, covering his mouth, though he doesn’t make a witty comment.

 

    They head onwards, and the first they note- those two again. Diction raised an eyebrow, slowly pushing the other children behind him.

 

     _“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE-”_ Papyrus started, but he caught sight of the group, and looked to Sans, who, when he turns back to, turns to look at the group, they repeated this, slowly getting faster and faster until they were flat out spinning- the kids looked between themselves in mutual concern- before they both turn their backs, _“SANS!! OH MY GOD!! ARE THOSE... HUMANS?!?!?!”_ They turn back to the group, the tall blonde raises an eyebrow at them.

 

    Sans leans to his side ever-so-slightly, a thing only Diction had noticed, **“actually… i think those are rocks.”** He pointed out, and Diction looks behind him, noticing three, four rocks behind the group, he rolled his eyes, turning back to the skeletons- Oli’s grip of fear on his hand was tight.

 

     _“OH.”_ Papyrus slumped a bit at that, and Sans makes a glance towards the group, **“hey, what’re those in front of the rocks?”** He asked, and Papyrus turns to look at them, eye sockets lighting up, _“OH MY GOD!!!”_ He yelled, and leaned towards Sans, _“(ARE… ARE THOSE HUMANS.)”_ He whisper-yelled, Sans winked, **“(yes.)”** The taller skeleton gasps, looking to them, _“OH MY GOD!!!!”_ He exclaimed, and Diction sighed, _“My **e a r s**.”_ He grumbled, frowning.

 

     _“SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!!”_ Papyrus exclaimed, _“UNDYNE WILL… I’M GONNA… I’LL BE SO…”_

 

    _“POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!”_ He pauses, _“...AHEM.”_ He regains his composure, and points to the group, _“HUMANS! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA!”_ He proclaims boldly, _“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN!!”_ A pause, _“I’M NOT SURE WHAT’S NEXT… IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE, ONLY IF YOU DARE!!”_ He then proceeded to rush off, yelling _‘NYEH-HEH-HEH’_ , Diction facepalmed, sighing, Sans turns to them, **“well, that went well.”** He admitted, **“don’t sweat it, kids.”** He then winks again, **“i’ll keep an eye socket out for ya.”** He then heads off after his brother, leaving the kids in silence, Victor takes a deep breath.

 

     **“I’ve decided; I fucking hate the short one in particular.”** He stated, Diction rolled his eyes.

 

    And so they proceed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa, my apologies for taking so long with this! i've been hit with a massive writer's block when this was only just three quarters done! it's finished now, and i'll do my best to get started on the next chapter soon <3


	12. SNOWY TERRAIN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making their way slowly but surely through Snowdin, the children come across more enemies.  
> | WARNING: CHILD DEATH. Frisk loads after tho :'D. |

    The next area didn't seem so bad- a haphazardly-made sentry station was the only thing that rests within it, Olivia had quickly hopped over to inspect it, and burst into laughter, causing Victor to wander over and look at it himself, and he sighed, shaking his head, _**“Papyrus left a note.”**_ Was all he said, taking Oli’s hand and carrying on, the others following.

 

    The next area held a much better looking sentry station, and Olivia broke away from Victor to head closer, almost jumping away at the monster that pops up.

 

     _“Did something move?”_

 

    Olivia almost gasps.

 

     _“Was it my imagination?”_

 

    No, it couldn’t be, could it?

 

     _“I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving, for example, a human…”_

 

    The girl stood in place, staring dumbfounded at the dog monster. _Dog. Puppy. Pet puppy_?

 

     _“I’ll make sure it NEVER moves again!”_

 

    Olivia was pulled into battle, a grin on her face as she watched the monster move.

 

    ⚫ Doggo blocks the way!

 

    She goes to pet, looking curious.

 

    ⚫ Doggo is too suspicious of your movements.

 

     _“Don’t move an inch!”_ He barks, and he sends out an attack- a knife, as blue as her SOUL- it collides with it, but no damage is taken.

 

    Oli did look a little surprised at that.

 

    ⚫ Doggo can’t seem to find anything.

 

    Oli’s fingers twitch as she dives for the pet option, small hands beginning to pet the dog monster, he suddenly seemed oddly surprised, beginning to shout _“PET?”_ as well as a few other words.

 

    Another attack happens, Oli doesn’t move for it.

 

    ⚫ Doggo has been pet.

 

    She notices the name in yellow- being quick to spare the dog from her merciless ticklefingers.

 

     Once out of battle, the dog seemed, as Victor would say, shooketh, _“S-s-s-something pet me… something isn’t m-m-moving… I’m gonna need some dog treats for this!!!”_ He ducks into his station, and Oli looked at the others, grinning.

 

    After that debacle (and Victor asking, _**‘do dogs think of treats as weed?’**_ ), they head onwards.

 

    The next area greeted them with Sans! Victor dies a little on the inside. **“hey,”** he calls out to them, **“here’s something important to remember.”** Diction raises an eyebrow curiously at that, _“Oh?”_ **“my brother has a very special attack.”** He started, **“if you see a blue attack, don’t move and it won’t hurt you.”** _**“Fuckin’ gathered that.”**_ Victor grumbled.

 

     **“here’s an easy way to keep it in mind, imagine a stop sign. when you see a sign, you stop, right? stop signs are red. so imagine a blue stop sign instead. simple, right? when fighting, think about blue stop signs.”** He stated, Gracie gave a nod, _**“Right, thank you.”**_ She murmured. During all of this, Frisk had headed upwards, coming back with a small fistful of snow, they gave the others a nod, and they carry on.

 

    They come across a flat piece of land- and the two skeletons- Victor narrowed his eyes, _**“Wasn’t he just- what the fuck??”**_ He muttered, Diction sighed, _“Let’s not question it.”_ He replied.

 

     _“YOU’RE SO LAZY!!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!”_ Papyrus boomed, earning a grin from Andres- loud noises, his favourite. Sans shrugged at him, smiling as usual, **“i think that’s called… _sleeping_.”** He responded, _“EXCUSES, EXCUSES!”_ The taller skeleton stated, and finally took notice of the group, _“OH-HO! THE HUMANS ARRIVE!”_ He exclaimed, Andres giggled softly.

 

     _“IN ORDER TO STOP YOU… MY BROTHER AND I CREATED SOME PUZZLES!”_ He stated, _“I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE… QUITE SHOCKING!!”_ The kids all look at each other, _oh no_.

 

     _“FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE… ELECTRICITY MAZE!! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP!”_ He holds out a blue sphere, _“SOUND LIKE FUN?? BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK.”_ He rubs his jaw with a gloved hand, Andres already looked really excited! He doesn’t know why, but that sounded great. _“OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW.”_

 

    The kids look between each other again, not noticing how Andres stepped into the maze, only realising too late-

 

     _ **ZAP.**_

 

    Andres covered his mouth, stumbling back as Papyrus got shocked. The skeleton stood for a few seconds, before-

 

     _“SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!”_ **“i think one’a the humans have to hold the orb.”** _“OH, OKAY.”_ The kids watch as the tall skeleton shuffles through the maze, noticing the tracks he left behind before he carefully places the orb on the ridge of Andres’ cowboy hat, _“HOLD THIS PLEASE.”_ He chirped, and headed back.

 

    _“OKAY, TRY NOW!”_ He called, and Andres looked at the floor, retracing his steps carefully, the others begin to follow suit, like a conga line, again.

 

    Once out of there, Papyrus gapes, _“INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAILS!”_ Andres giggled at that, _“YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY… TOO EASILY!”_ Victor goes to open his mouth to tell him about the footprints, but Gracie’s stare causes him to cease, _“HOWEVER!”_ Papyrus continues, _“THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE SO EASY!! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS!”_ He gestures to the other skeleton, _“YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!”_ He then proceeds to moonwalk away, Victor just, stared, _**“He better teach me how to do that.”**_ This entire time, Frisk had been chatting to Sans, too, they seemed to be talking about a costume, once they were done, the children carried onwards.

 

    Cason had rushed off to the nearby vendor within the area, almost excited, he bought four items from them before coming back to the others and passing them out, _“We can share them- there’s two of them on each treat.”_ He exclaimed, showing the Bisicle to the group. Frisk gave a soundless chuckle, and the group spent a few minutes figuring out the nearby Ball Game, too, especially since Frisk had nabbed the red flag for the game- they took note of their virtues, the traits that define them- and Diction glanced to Frisk, _“Y’know… they don’t really have a name for your SOUL.”_ He stated softly, curious, Frisk shrugged, and signed to him, _‘Most people call it Determination. It’s not the real name, but it’s something we generally accept.’_ Diction nods to that. And they head on again.

 

     _“HUMANS!!!”_ Papyrus yells as they walk up, _“I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR…”_ He stares at the ‘puzzle’, a sheet of paper on the floor, and looked to his brother, _“SANS!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!”_ **“it’s right there. on the ground.”** Diction had walked over to it, picking it up, **“trust me. there’s no way they can get past this one.”**

 

     _“Of course we wouldn’t.”_ Diction replied, _“You deliberately changed one of the words in the puzzle, we wouldn’t be able to finish it.”_

 

     _ **“OR WE COULD-”**_ Victor started, irritated, he walked past Diction, and stood next to Papyrus, _**“-DO THAT, YOU FUCKING RASPBERRY CROISSANT.”**_

 

    Now Papyrus looked a bit annoyed, _“SANS!! THAT DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!!”_ He yelled, **“whoops. i knew i should’ve used today’s crossword.”** Sans chortled, _“WHAT?! CROSSWORD?! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION… JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST.”_ **“what? really, dude? that easy peasy word scramble?”** Sans raises a figurative eyebrow, **“that’s for baby bones.”** _“UN. BELIEVABLE.”_ He turns to the group, _“HUMANS! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE.”_ He exclaimed.

 

    Without even missing a beat, Oli yelled, **“JUNIOR JUMBLE!”** Victor gave her a questioning look, Papyrus, however, cheers, _“HA! HA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT...”_ In the midst, Oli leans to Victor, **“It’s hard because I can barely read English.”** She mumbled sheepishly, Papyrus continues, _“IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH! HEH HEH!”_ He runs off, Victor huffs, folding his arms, **“thanks for saying junior jumble just to appease my bro.”** Sans piped up, **“yesterday he got stuck trying to ‘solve’ the horoscope.”** He added, the kids gave a collective sigh, and carry on.

 

    They come across spaghetti in the next area, and Olivia gasps, heading over to it, it was so cold, it was stuck to the table.

 

    But does that stop Olivia? Apparently, it doesn’t, she grabs the nearby fork, stabs it into the frozen spaghetti, yanks out a piece- Victor distantly goes, _**“Olivia Jamee Bianchi, what the fuck? How did you do that, that was stuck to the table, what-”**_ \- and bites down on it, she stands there, chewing for a few seconds before looking at the others and grinning, **“It’s good!”** She exclaimed.

 

    The others stare at her, dumbfounded, and Cason had to rip her away before she went back for more. Frisk had saved meanwhile, and Diction inspected the area- and the note left nearby from Papyrus- before heading onwards.

 

    The sign by them in the next piece of the forest held a sign, only warning them of ‘dog marriage’, for some reason, it gave Gracie of all people chills. The kids took a few steps forward, and-

 

    ⚫ Lesser Dog appears.

 

    Andres was pulled into battle. The boy checked his options, blinking, and went for one of the pet options.

 

    His eyes widen as Lesser Dog’s neck expands.

 

    He then proceeds to take the next five minutes of petting and dodging attacks, which just makes the dog’s neck grow and grow.

 

     _ **“Andres.”**_ Victor called out. No response, _**“Andres.”** _ Nothing.

 

     _ **“ANDRES ABEL DIAZ SO HELP ME GOD IF YOU DON’T SPARE THE DOG NOW I WILL COME OVER THERE-”**_

 

    Andres turns to stare at him, pouting, before begrudgingly sparing the dog, _ **“Thank fuck.”** _ Victor muttered, the boy waddled over, now looking like a sad puppy.

 

    Once looking around the area, the children realise that they need to pull a switch to proceed, it took them a solid three minutes to find it, Frisk had taken a moment to head back to save, and they carry onwards.

 

    They all halt when they see a pair of dogs with axes come forward, Gracie pushes the children back, concerned, _“What’s that smell?”_ One asks, **“(Where’s that smell?)”** The other asks, _“If you’re a smell…”_ **“(Identify yoursmellf!)”** They proceed to walk around the area, before stopping by Gracie.

 

     _“Hm… here’s that weird smell.”_ The first stated, _“It makes me want to eliminate.”_ Gracie’s breath catches in her throat, **“(...Eliminate YOU!)”**

 

    They lunge for her, dragging her into a battle.

 

    ⚫ Dogi assault you! 

 

    Gracie wheezes, looking around- before looking at her options, she chooses to check Dogamy.

 

    ⚫ DOGAMY - 6 ATK 4 DEF.

    ⚫ Husband of Dogaressa.

    ⚫ Knows only what he smells.

 

    She frowns at that, vaguely hearing a _“Don’t touch my hotdog!”_ And a **“(He means me.)”** Before getting smacked with a pair of axes.

 

    They whittle down 8 HP from her.

 

     _ **INTEGRITY: 12/20 HP.**_

 

    She wheezes, fumbling blindly due to shock, she accidentally checks Dogamy again- getting the same result- she vaguely hears the others yell, they were panicking.

 

    She gets attacked by dogs throwing hearts this time- she just barely avoids one hit, but another heart hits her.

 

     _ **INTEGRITY: 8/20 HP.**_

 

    Was she… going to die? No- not now, she may have no items but she can’t give up.

 

    ⚫ The dogs keep shifting their axes to protect each other.

 

    Gracie bit her lip, and decided to check Dogaressa this time.

 

    ⚫ DOGARESSA - 6 ATK 4 DEF

    ⚫ This puppy finds her hubby lovely.

    ⚫ SMELLS ONLY?

 

     Another ring of hearts is thrown at her- she takes a hit from one, and then the other ring hits her full force.

 

     _ **INTEGRITY: 0/20 HP.**_

 

    She screams.

 

     Victor lets out a devastating _**“NO!”**_ When Gracie’s body hits the floor, a SOUL of deep blue rising up only to be encased in a small container, Diction placed a hand on Frisk’s shoulder, eyes wide, _“Load, Frisk, load!”_ He exclaimed, Cason was trying to quell the sobs of the youngest two, Oli cries for **‘mama'** , and Andres was throwing a tearful fit.

 

    Frisk shakily nods, fumbling through the menu quickly as the dogs re-sniff for their next victim.

 

    Finditfinditfindut- THERE. They slam their hand on the LOAD button, mumbling inaudibly.

 

    _‘Mom, come back- please come back. I don't want to lose anyone else!’_

 

_**[LOAD.]** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa, gosh i'm so sorry this took so long! I ended up powering through this at like... 12:30 am this morning and it took two hours to type up six pages on my phone buT ANYWays me? murdering the mom friend? yes  
> i may also make a new fic for side stories, that delve deeper into the kids' backstories and what happens during timeskips, too!  
> anyways, i'd appreciate any constructive criticism and i'd love to hear your thoughts on this so far <3!!

**Author's Note:**

> ajdhfdhsdf ive been meaning to post this here hecc  
> aaaaaaaaaa anyways this is like... my first fic here and theres gonna be more to come lmao  
> also hEcK this is a short prologue but stuffs gonna get heckin wild soon i tell ya


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